Secure Jobs Better Pay reforms lift wages by $6.3 billion

The Albanese Labor Government’s landmark Secure Jobs Better Pay workplace reforms – won by union members – have boosted economy-wide wage growth by $6.3 billion over the past year.  

The rise in collective bargaining agreements is one of the key reasons why – as more workers negotiate to win fairer pay and conditions.

More workers covered by collective bargaining agreements

The number of Australian workers under collective bargaining agreements has surged from 1.8 million to 2.2 million in less than two years.  

This means more union members in their workplaces are fighting for – and winning – meaningful pay rises and improvements to their working conditions. 

We know that the best way to secure a pay rise is to bargain for it collectively as a union members – and research on the effects of the reforms backs this up.

Annual wage growth is 3.7% – a dramatic improvement following almost a decade of deliberate wage suppression under former the Coalition government, where wage growth languished at 2.1%.

And wage growth is expected to continue to increase as more workers move across to collective bargaining agreements.

Benefits for workers and the economy

The Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms have also led to a range of other benefits for workers, including: 

• Fixed-term contracts have decreased by 14.7%, with tens of thousands of workers transitioning to more secure permanent positions 

• Collective bargaining changes have empowered women to secure big pay rises in highly feminised industries such as aged care and early childhood education and care 

• Abolition of pay secrecy provisions in contracts is helping to narrow the gender pay gap, which is closing three times faster than under former Coalition governments.

• Flexible work requests are being granted at a higher rate

Big business push-back against sensible reforms

The reforms were hard-fought-for by unions and introduced by the Labor government with the goals to “get wages moving, boost job security, tackle gender inequality and restore fairness and integrity to Fair Work institutions”.

The ACTU’s submission this week to the government’s review of the reforms shows that while they have been in operation for less than two years, significant progress has been achieved under all four of these major goals; in stark contrast to the legacy of nearly a decade of Coalition governments.

Despite all the evidence that the reforms are working, big business is already pushing back against proposed changes – and urging Peter Dutton and the Coalition to repeal the bulk of the laws if elected in 2025.

Their main demand: drastically limit multi-employer bargaining to prevent workers from winning meaningful pay rises across workplaces in the same industry.

Additionally, employer groups are demanding job security protections be stripped from workers with the repealing of rights for casuals and rights to permanency for people on fixed-term contracts.

Peter Dutton’s position couldn’t be clearer. 

The Coalition voted against the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms back in 2022. 

And they have already committed to repealing these laws if elected next year. Proving once again that they will always put the interests of their big business mates over the interests of working Australians.